ICMAC at the Leeds International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds (UK), 6-9 July 2026: Call for Session and Paper Proposals
ICMAC (Iuris canonici medii aevi consociatio) plans to run sessions again at the Leeds International Medieval Congress in July 2026. Proposals are therefore welcome for papers or sessions on any area or period of medieval canon law from Late Antiquity to the Later Middle Ages. We are particularly open to proposals from early career scholars. The IMC is once again proposing a hybrid conference, with online participation available for those who cannot attend in person. We will give preference to in-person presenters. As in past years, we are seeking to run four sessions to fill an entire day (Tuesday or Wednesday) at Leeds.
The IMC theme in 2026 is ‘Temporalities’ (Call for Papers: IMC 2026 - 'Temporalities' | International Medieval Congress) relevant in various ways to medieval canon law. We particularly encourage papers or thematic sessions that engage with this broad theme, including perceptions and concepts of time; calculation, measurement and estimation of time; the documentation and narratives of time, and so forth (see the theme description via the link above). The theme is especially relevant to medieval canon law when considering how court proceedings were mapped against time; the role of time and memory in legal rights such as those acquired by prescription; legal narratives in petitions, depositions and other legal documents; and even the concept of ‘temporalities’ as kinds of church property and income (in contrast to ‘spiritualities’).We also encourage papers encompassing any other theme in medieval canon law, such as: the transmission of texts, development of legal networks and schools; doctrine and jurisprudence; manuscript analyses; work on editions; courts, procedure and legal practice.
Individual papers should be 20 minutes long, and we can organise paper proposals into sessions. Prearranged sessions should include three papers and have an overall theme; (we can help with moderators). Although Leeds will accept papers in all the main scholarly languages, papers in English are preferred purely for practical reasons, although the Leeds audience now often includes non-native speakers. Prospective participants are requested to send either a paper title and short abstract (100-150 words, to give a good sense of the proposed topic) or details of a planned session (i.e. session title, paper titles, participants, and session abstract of similar length) along with contact details and institutional affiliations, to Peter Clarke (p.d.clarke@soton.ac.uk) and Jason Taliadoros (jason.taliadoros@:deakin.edu.au) before 16 September 2025. Please also indicate whether you would prefer to present in-person or virtually.